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We knew it was coming.  Those Norwegians,  Mayflower Madame have finally dropped the new album called Insight, near the end of 2024. They have been threatening this for a while,  dropping singles along the way,  like bread crumbs, in order to give you a taste but leaving you wanting more.  Wait no more, and let the darkness take you. 

We can not go past the last single, the track, “Crippled Crow.” The band’s signature guitar is there, but also the synths sound like gusts of cold air. The vocals are echoing and, for me, remind me a little of Echo and the Bunnymen. Without warning, drums and guitar fall into a wonderful vortex of noise, where you will want to save this broken ‘crow.’

There is an area in my chest that just reverberated with “Queen of the Underworld.” I am not sure if it is the heavy guitars or lonely piano, or perhaps the accompanying synths, but it resonates and captures feelings of shivering delight. The first track “Ocean of Bitterness” will instantly drag you into the dark heart of Mayflower Madame.

I am going to say that the cover brought back memories of another in the form of the UK’s Play Dead’s album Company of Justice, which is also an excellent gothic release. Mayflower Madame have that Scandinavian cool about them, mixed with a classic 80s post-punk sound, and creates magically dark and sonically expressive gothic music that strays into shoegaze. Insight is a collection of all the singles, yet there are all the other tracks here to discover and this album won’t leave you feeling disappointed.

Insight | Mayflower Madame

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For many of us, we cannot think of early 80s British post-punk/gothic, without including Leeds band, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (RLYL). They were an amazing juggernaut, with other key bands such as Sisters of Mercy and The March Violets, giving us dark, guitar driven songs of nihilism from an era that was seeing a great deal of social upheaval, and also a music scene spewing forth a slew of new styles. Something Lorries fans having been holding out for was another studio album. We knew there was one in the wings, but no one, including the band, knew if it was going to see the light of day, having been recorded ten years ago. Not only is that album, Some Kind of Paradise, due for release, there is also the bonus of an EP Driving Black, that is out in December. However, for now, the first single has been dropped, which is also called “Driving Black (Ding’s Remix)“. It has been thirty-three years since the last Red Lorry Yellow Lorry single and all this goodness is being brought to you via COP International.

Chris Reed’s vocals are unmistakable with that biting edge of venom matched with near derision, that brokers no arguments, for it is what it is. The percussion is savage between the drums (Martin Henderson) and bass (Simon Archer), that sets the stage for the driving guitars of Reed and David Wolfenden.

The Ding is Simon ‘Ding’ Archer, music bassist for RLYL as well as being a music producer in his own right. There is a coarseness that grates over your skin with “Driving Black,” as it is with most music in the past from The Lorries. I think this is due to the fact that the song is so real.. as in you feel it in your bones and it resonates in your head, becoming another integral piece of fabric in memories, because it is a great and gritty rock song. It isn’t long now for those of us who have loved Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and I am beyond excited knowing that the journey isn’t quite over yet.

Driving Black | Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (bandcamp.com)

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“Never Sever” is the new single from Norway’s Mayflower Madame, from the album Insight, which will be released on November the 1st on the label Night Cult Records.

There is a haunted tone to the beginning of “Never Sever,” however this track kicks off with the guitars powering up their shoegaze jangle. The vocals call out a regret of walking from a relationship, acknowledging that you can never go back after years. The electronics are the unsung hero here filling those swelling chorus.

There is a cool groove about this track, and the way it flows and builds between the guitars and vocals, very much reminds me of The Mission (UK). You can feel the ache of loss, however, the crashing drums combined with the bigger sound, leads you to believe that there is also acceptance of what is. Wallow in the beautiful gothic melancholy that is Mayflower Madame’s “Never Sever.”

Never Sever (single) | Mayflower Madame (bandcamp.com)

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Aston Nyte, lead singer of goth rock band The Awakening, has once again taken on the duty of lead vocalist with US super group, Beauty In Chaos, for the single “Made Of Rain,” which is off their fourth album Dancing With Angels.

Photo by Annabel DFlux

Michael Ciravolo is a master guitarist and the notes drift in a sensuous malady. Meanwhile, Nyte sings from the pit of his being, with the tone grabbing your heart and pulling it out of the cavity it beats in. The lyrical imagery is poignant, stealing your breath with the powerful lament.

Nyte, simply put, has a superb voice with an extraordinary range, and I have to admit I hold him in great esteem along side HIM’s Ville Valo. Not only is his singing beautiful, but you feel everything. So easily he causes a visceral reaction and that is what makes Nyte perfect for this track, “Made Of Rain.” The music video is also a feast for the eyes which I highly encourage you to check out.

DANCING WITH ANGELS | BEAUTY IN CHAOS (bandcamp.com)

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What happens when we have Boris Williams, best known as a part of The Cure and Jem Tayle who was one half of the now defunct Shellyan Orphan, join forces? It seems we get a Vamberator with the debut single “Sleep the Giant of Sleeps,” which is the first taste of the soon to follow full length album Age of Loneliness, out on Unifaun Productions.

For a moment, at the beginning, you are taken aback at some of the first musical notes, which could be mistaken for the baying of the Loch Ness Monster… well that might be an exaggeration, but it is kind of cool and launches into a rolling myriad of rhythms, piano, guitar and electronics. There is the amazing taste of a classical element throughout and Tayle’s vocals exude a confidence and perhaps a certain weariness, which lends itself to the theme of the song about the pursuit of hopes and dreams, but they are forever, seemingly, out of reach.

The duo are joined by Charlie Jones on bass and Joe Nye supplying backing vocals for “Sleep the Giant of Sleeps” and it is really a damn fine song. You might ask why and I will say this. Any track you can listen to multiple times, and you find new and exciting things within, is a treasure I find pure joy in, plus the more I replayed “Sleep the Giant of Sleeps,” the more I was sucked into it. Avoid disappointment and check out Vamberator.

Sleep the Giant of sleeps | Vamberator (bandcamp.com)

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Mon ami, lend me your ears for I will enlighten them with the music of The Antoine Poncelet Band, in the form of the May single “Drowning Men.” The band is made up of members Antoine Poncelet (vocals), Peter Quilla (guitar), Mark McClemens (bass, backing vocals), Justin Wright (drums) and Greg Bullock (keyboards), with Ingrid Larsen (backing vocals).

Tendrils of keyboard delicately introduce you to the beginning of “Drowning Men” before we launch into the twanging guitar, leading into Poncelet’s beseeching vocals. The drowning man, if you try and save them, could possibly pull you under and it is also a metaphor for modern life, that can grab you and take you under the unsurmountable waves. ‘What would you do?’ demands Poncelet as the dark bluesy “Drowning Men” grooves on. So what would you do? Save the man or listen to The Antoine Poncelet Band?

Drowning Men | The Antoine Poncelet Band (bandcamp.com)

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Norway’s Mayflower Madame is back with a new single called “Paint It All in Blue.” This is the second single off the yet to be released new album, Insight, out on the Night Cult Records label.

Photo by Astrid Serck

Looking at the cover, there is a hand with a wedding ring and the lyrics most definitely allude to a relationship where someone has given everything to another and it hasn’t been a healthy partnership. Their signature dark and heavy bass is present with the flowing dreamgaze guitars. The vocals reverberate sublimely as we are drawn into the song.

It is interesting that hands seem to feature so prominently visually for Mayflower Madame and it makes me wonder if it is about the act of holding onto a person or an ideal and the pleasure or pain that this can cause. “Paint It All in Blue” is blissful post-punk, holding you in a sea of forlorn and of course this is a beautiful thing.

Paint It All in Blue (single) | Mayflower Madame (bandcamp.com)

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Polish industrial rock band Inside Her dropped the new single “Nikt Stąd Nie Wyjdzie Żywy” in May…….. yep, unless you speak Polish, you might kill yourself saying this title which more or less translates to no one will get out of here alive. The track features the vocals of Justyna Gryka and this is the second single off the soon to be released second album.

And it all started with a beat and the rumblings of a bass guitar, before the track leaps out at you. There is the introduction to the deep male vocals followed by a female whisper above, and surprisingly the synths are so light within the within the heavy crush of guitar. Gryka plays between demure and power singing, slipping easily between modes, holding her own, while the guitars soar from harsh to classical metal. Always there is that bass guitar. These guys remind me a lot of Germany’s Eisbrecher musically but Inside Her definitely pushing their own sound.

it starts with the feet | inside her (bandcamp.com)

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South Australian’s Brave Mistakes is now a fully fledged band, going from a solo project originally, created by a guy who thought he would challenge himself in putting out one song a month. That is pretty good going and says a lot about the character and song writing abilities of lead singer Garrett Cooper.

The vocals are very reminiscent of a soul filled Brian Ferry, combined with bitter sweet lyrics of love , because as we all know that love can hurt just as much as it can fix broken hearts. There is a wonderful play between the guitars that swirls into your ears, with the drums underpinning it all.

“Aching Enough” definitely draws on the alternative Australian sound, and you hear the reverberations of guitar bands such as The Hummingbirds, The Huxton Creepers, The Triffids or even The Screaming Tribesmen. This one really does pull at the heartstrings and there is a longing, leaving us waiting for more.

Aching Enough | Brave Mistakes (bandcamp.com)

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Late at night, when all are asleep, and yet slumber escapes you…. do you hear it? Noises from under the bed, or is it the cupboard or down the hall? Maybe, you are about to “Meet Mr Scratch,” which coincidently is the new video for the single from Sinister Fate, the shock rock five piece unit, based in Chicago.

Häxan, the Swedish silent horror movie from 1922, is the setting for the video, where the band has been grafted into the the story of medieval witchcraft and terror. Band members, David Bates (vocals), Noel Divad (guitar), Leo Garcia (guitar), The Omen (bass), and DK (drums) seem to play the roles of ghastly beings who are watching and taunting the religious protagonists, while the music heightens the paranormal tension, in that sassy theatrical way.

In the milieu of such artists as Rob Zombie and Wednesday 13, it has to be said that horror inspired rock is very appealing, especially with its tongue in cheek sense of humour, which definitely is there in spades when watching the music video. Basically it is good old fashioned fun, enhanced by a guitar fuelled track, where one must be careful or encounter the Sinister Fate and “Meet Mister Scratch.”

Meet Mister Scratch | SINISTER FATE (bandcamp.com)

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